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My 83 yr old father has been diagnosed with Dementia by his primary doctor, a social worker, and Psychiatrist. My sister and i were advised by all three professionals to get POA & Guardianship of our father ASAP. My father bought one automobile on March 2nd 2014, two later her traded this car in to the same dealership for a lease Rav-4, 2014. Less then a week, he decided that this vehicle had too many blind spots and traded this Vehicle down to a lower price leased car. My sister and I spoke to the dealership about my fathers mental condition. They informed us they would do some number crunching to explain how much money was spent after each transaction. My father is legally blind in one eye, and is being attended by an eye specialist presently. Dad's est. income per month is $2500.00. His only asset his a mobile home built 1985 and now this lease (24) months. In 2009 dad asked if I would go with him and put my name on his checking account to write checks as needed. I have not written one check since that time. I was able to find out the Balances Dad has in his Checking acct, Savings acct. and Money Market acct. Checking/savings accounts decreased close to $10,000.00 in two weeks. My sister and I investigated this at his bank only to find out that The first Car he bought was paid off with close to $22,000.00 which he does not own or have possession of. I am retired and allowed a curtain amount of money without filing taxes. My sister has POA rights only at time of his death. I have POA to write checks only for my father with his permission. My sister is telling me that she and I need to become POA and Guardian of our father ASAP. We all live in Ohio, same city so it will not be difficult to travel to an attorney's office if need be. Is there a limited amount of money that the elderly person has before they can get a Pro Bono attorney?

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I think your father needs an attorney for the people (car dealership) who have bamboozled him out of his money, they took advantage of him and need to make amends.

POA is good, but guardianship is better, the trick is, if no one in your family opposes to you being the one.

Someone clearly needs to be in charge.

Your sister is right (are there any more siblings, who might object?) but there can only be one POA for finances(includes bank accounts and property) and one for medical (dr appointments, end of life, etc.).

There can only be one guardian which requires a petition, you can file yourself, in the court in the city/and or county you reside.

If your sister and you can agree who is to be the guardian, you can do it yourself with these words

I _____________(name)petition the court for guardianship of my

father,____________ name, _________date of birth ___________legal address,

who has been declared mentally incompetent by _________________dr, nurse

and social worker and needs help in managing his life, if the court grants me, i

intend to fulfill these duties and honor him to the best of my ability.


Make sure you bring those doc's that support, their findings
and the ex. of the car.

You will probably need to open a new account(with both names) with smaller balance that gives him a debit (that you control every month so he can purchase his gas and food without you) so that he still has freedom to do so.

If those doc's state that he was incompetent before he purchased his car, then leased a car, I believe if you show those doc's to the car dealership, copies of course, I think they might do the right thing to avoid being sued.
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Since most leases require less then $2000 deposit, where is the other $10000? The dealership has ripped him off and you need to threaten the with a lawyer, exposure on local news, etc. Bring the letters that state your dad's illness with you when you talk to the dealer.
POA may not be an option if your dad is so far gone that he doesn't know what he is signing. The form will need to be signed by him and you in front of a notary public. Banks, doctor's offices, and insurance agencies often have one on staff. Check with them. Then be sure to file them with the court.
If POA is not an option, you will need to get guardianship which is a whole different process. You will need to have a lawyer for this. He will petition the court, a hearing will be held, and temporary guardianship will be assigned after you have passed a background check. Some states required some brief training of the guardian. Then, after about 2 months and another court hearing you will be assigned permanent guardianship. There is a 2 month wait just in case someone else wants to contest it and take over the guardianship themselves.

Cost of POA, basically just court costs. Cost of guardianship, $2000-$20000, maybe more if contested.
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Your father needs your help ASAP! Car dealerships are NOT required to take a vehicle back after it leaves the dealership, and there is NO three day right to take back a vehicle. Get all the professionals to testify in Court to have your father deemed incapacitated, granting you guardianship and all this nonsense will stop, and no, there is no amount of money you need in order to find a pro bono attorney. You can also just file the papers with the Probate Court YOURSELVES, saving you the expense of an attorney. I did, and you just pay the court costs, and sometimes if there is hardship, that can be waived. The funds to pay the court costs can come out of your father's account too. Do this immediately before he does lose all his money. Having dementia is not an excuse for him (not everyone is so forgiving) and since you two know about his condition, it behooves you to act immediately! You can do this.
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Does it seem to you that your Dad is still able to drive safely? I had to ask my husband to stop driving at 80 because he had a accident where he went into the
back of a car and didn't remember a thing about it, along with other poor driving
incidents. Good luck in the future, but give lots of hugs and understanding.
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I just took my mom to the bank, moved her money to my bank. It is her account but I am the signer. She doesn't go anywhere without me taking her anyway, and I pay all of her bills. I have 4 brothers. They don't want to do anything! I make all of her decisions. She is 90. Just broke her pelvis. Fun times.
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